Former Mayor Resigns From Laguna Niguel City Council

The Civic Center in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Sandy Rains resigned as the city’s councilor May 10—less than three months after she stepped down from the mayor’s seat in February in the Southern California city.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve the residents of Laguna Niguel. I want to thank the many people who inspired me and supported me to serve our community,” Rains said in her resignation letter sent to The Epoch Times.

The city council will decide how to fill the newly vacated seat on May 16 during the regular council meeting.

Rains explained in the letter that her move comes after she became concerned over disagreements between councilors, and she described the city council as a “hostile environment.”

“An environment that is not safe to disagree in is an environment that is not focused on growth—it is an environment that is focused on control,” she said.

Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Sandy Rains. (Courtesy of City of Laguna Niguel)

She also said that “this decision did not come lightly, however for the safety and protection of my family it is the appropriate time.”

The city also released a statement Wednesday regarding Rains resignation.

“I thank former Council Member Rains for her service to the community and respect her decision to resign from the Laguna Niguel City Council,” Mayor Kelly Jennings said.

Then-councilwoman, Jennings, was selected as mayor in March following Rains’s resignation from the position.

Rains’s resignation occurred within a week of Councilors Stephanie Oddo and Ray Gennawey openly demanding her removal from the mayoral position—the call came in response to Rains’ proposal to discuss City Manager Tamara Letourneau’s potential dismissal.

Oddo and Gennawey said that Rains’s decision was a retaliatory move in response to a call for discussing the possible removal of the city attorney initiated by other councilors.

“[Rains] would be willing to take off the word ‘dismissal’ from the city manager agenda item, if we took off the word ‘dismissal’ from the city attorney review,” Oddo said during a council meeting.

Councilman Ray Gennawey called Rains’s move “strange and retaliatory.”

Ultimately, the issue of dismissing Letourneau was not discussed at the meeting.

During the meeting, Rains apologized for her actions, called them a mistake, and attributed it to “bad legal advice” without further explanation.

After Rains’s resignation, Mayor Pro Tem Rischi Paul Sharma temporarily served in her place until Jennings was selected.

However, Sharma also abruptly resigned from the city council in April, leading to the council appointing Stephanie Winstead—who was also a candidate in the 2022 election—to fill the vacancy May 10.

Rains was originally elected to the city council in November 2018, and re-elected in November 2020. She was appointed to serve as mayor in December 2022 before resigning from the seat in February 2023.